New Year... New You...

I know everyone makes a New Years resolution to lose weight and then a few days later returns to their old ways, but this year I am determined to take the weight off (the right way) and keep it off.

My last job was so stressful that I literally gained 16 pounds in a 10 month period. I wish I was one of those people who can't eat when stressed, but unfortunately for me; I do just the opposite. Plus I don't eat large meals. I'm what you would call a grazer. I like to eat little snacks throughout the day and when I'm stressed those snacks quickly go from healthy foods such as an apple or an orange to fattening snacks like chips and nacho cheese dip.

During the day I would be very busy at work so I would go long hours without eating and then binge on junk food as soon as I got home. Then I lost my job right before Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years adding another 6 pounds to my waistline. Spending the last 3 months looking for a job hasn't helped either. Looking for employment in hard economic times can really make you depressed... there's many days I wish I could just lay in bed all day. Luckily, I don't have a lazy bone in my body. Each day I am up before 8am making sure the kids are off to school, the house is cleaned, groceries are bought, bills are paid, dogs are taken care of , dinner is made all while looking for a job at the same time.

For Christmas my mother always gets my family a "family gift". This year she gave us a Wii video game system along with the Wii Fit Plus. January 1st I decided that I was going to use the Wii Fit Plus to help me in my quest to lose weight. I also decided to really watch what I eat and to keep unhealthy snacks to a minimum. My husband read that there are 3 vitamins that should be taken everyday to live a healthy lifestyle. Those vitamins are 1000mg of Vitamin C, 1000mg of Vitamin D-3 and 1000mg of Omega 3 Fish Oil. Plus all of us have read that everyone should start their day with a lite breakfast. So with this information, I starting taking these vitamins every morning along with eating one cup of low sugar oatmeal and drinking one cup of hot green tea with honey.

Once this morning ritual is completed, I then make myself do at least 30mins of Wii cardio and take the daily body test evaluation to help keep me on track. As of today, I have lost 6 pounds with 16 more to lose to reach my goal weight. I have set a goal time of two months to try and get to my goal weight so I can be back in shape in time for summer. To help me throughout the rest of my day, I went to Walmart and purchased about 20 Lean Cuisine and Weight Watcher meals to eat for lunch (and possibly dinner if needed). For snacking I purchased Fat Free Cottage Cheese, No Sugar Diced Peaches and a large bag of All Natural, No Salt, Almonds. I then try and stay firm to a daily eating schedule.

Since I like to snack throughout the day, I try not to eat as soon as I get up. This helps me to not snack as much during the day. What I try and do is wait until after the kids go to school and have my vitamins and oatmeal around 9am. Then I work out, clean the house, look for a job, run my errands etc... purposely keeping myself busy and away from snacking. Around 1pm, I eat a lite lunch which is usually one of the frozen meals I purchased at Wal-Mart or a small sandwich. Then around 3pm I will snack on a few Almonds or have one cup of the fat free cottage cheese with half a cup of diced sugar free peaches (if I'm hungry). Sometimes I am busy doing other things and don't snack at all. It just depends on my mood. At night I make dinner for my family as usual and then eat small portions of what I made. We usually eat before 6pm and never eat after 7pm if we can help it.

Sticking to this eating schedule along with exercising should help me to lose the weight and to keep it off. However, it isn't easy because I LOVE food and I love to cook huge meals. I love homemade bread, rich cheeses and any kind of dessert. I also decided to NOT stop eating the foods that I love, but to keep what I eat to a minimum and with small portions so that I don't end up binging on chips, cakes and cookies and gaining all the weight back that I worked so hard to lose. I also only drink water except for the green tea that I have in the morning and the occasional cup of hot chocolate in the evening when it is cold outside.

Hopefully I will be able to stick to this program and that I will see the results I am looking for.

This is my world...